


head first into the light

by Imestelomel



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Breaking and Entering, F/M, First Meetings, Fluff, Humor, Mild Blood, a baseball bat that should be its own character, not betaed we die like heroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-04-01 09:20:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13995216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imestelomel/pseuds/Imestelomel
Summary: “Wait...so this isn’t Dick’s new apartment?”“No,” she gritted out from between clenched teeth.“And we didn’t, you know...?”“No!”“Oh.” He swallowed roughly, his cheeks pink, before sitting up completely and pulling the pillow into his arms, hugging it awkwardly and looking around. “Okay, I’m beginning to see why you’re pissed.”





	head first into the light

**Author's Note:**

> I started this fic Halloween of 2016 and it's been haunting me ever since. Just take it before I'm tempted to change something else, oh god.

Artemis Crock was not a girl that shrieked and squealed and squeaked. It just didn't happen. Even when she was caught off guard, she remained calm and composed. It was a point of pride.

So whatever it may have sounded like, the sound emitting from her mouth when she walked into her living room to find a shirtless redheaded male sprawled out, face down, on her sofa, was not a shriek. Yes, the decibel level was beyond comprehension, and yes, she jumped a foot into the air and slammed her hand to her chest in surprise, but she did _not shriek_.

After her not-shriek, when she had managed to compose herself enough to clutch at the door frame and reach inside the bedroom blindly for the metal baseball bat she knew was propped there, she took a moment to take in the details - just in case they were needed for a police report, since he _had_ broken into her apartment after all.

The man, whose face was still buried under her favorite Cheshire Cat throw pillow, was sprawled out in a way that might have indicated death if not for the faint sounds of snoring echoing through her apartment, which said something for the volume of his snoring, if it was echoing through the room _after_ making its way through a pillow. His faded jeans hung loosely around his hips, showing just a peek of what looked like black boxers printed with little yellow Batman symbols, and on one foot was a red and yellow striped sneaker, while the other was completely bare. Artemis glanced around and spied the missing sneaker lying under her coffee table, while a white sock appeared to be hanging over the arm of the sofa. After a moment’s hesitation - and a quick adjustment of her grip on the bat - she tiptoed forward until she was about two feet away from the man’s head. She took a closer look at the floor, and after reassuring herself that there were no signs of vomit, burnt spoons, loaded guns or empty liquor bottles, she reexamined her intruder. His mop of orange-red hair was shaggy and unruly, and his shoulders were covered with a smattering of freckles. Artemis looked around, but couldn't seem to find any shirt that might have been his in her line of sight.

She contemplated her next move as she readjusted her hands on the bat once again. On one hand, she could call the cops from her bedroom, wait for them to come wake him up, and pretend this whole scenario never happened. On the other hand, this apartment complex _was_ a college living sort of place, and it would be pretty harsh to get a guy arrested who hadn't vomited everywhere or trashed the place and didn't even try to get into her bedroom. She sighed. Okay, so no cops. She'd give this guy the benefit of the doubt, though why she was feeling so generous was a mystery to her. Maybe it was the freckles. She did always seem to have a thing for that.

She cleared her throat.

The man on her sofa didn't even twitch.

Artemis rolled her eyes. “Hey!,” she said forcefully. “Wake up!”

She heard a groan from beneath the pillow, and her breath caught a bit in her throat as a pair of brilliant green eyes slowly peeked out sleepily over her throw pillow. There was a pause as they focused, then widened a bit as they took her in, a red flush creeping up into the exposed bits of ears and forehead. The muffled sound of a throat clearing came from behind the pillow, and he paused before rolling back and plastering an attempt at an easy grin on his face. “Uh, hey, babe,” he drawled out, stretching an arm above his head and laying back on the couch. “I’m, uh…,” he reached back to scratch his neck, glancing down before continuing. “I’m actually a little fuzzy on the details from last night. I’m sure it was a night that I’ll regret forgetting, though, if you’re any indication,” he finished in a rush, lip quirking up on the side.

She stared at him in silence, one eyebrow raising ever so slightly.

After at least a minute of her staring, his smiling started to give way to confusion. “Babe? I mean, I’ll be the first to admit the morning after is always awkward, but are you gonna leave me han-”

“Oh my _God_ , you’re actually serious right now!” she yelled, baseball bat rising an inch.

He winced at the noise, before focusing on the bat in her hands and paling infinitesimally. “Shit, you aren’t Dick’s new girlfriend, are you? Oh, God, I’m sorry, did he not tell you I was crashing here last night? I could have sworn he said he’d be alone, but-”

“I am not _anyone’s_ girlfriend!” She glowered down at him when he seemed encouraged by that statement instead of worried. “In case you haven’t noticed, _you do not belong in my apartment!_ And I have never seen you before in my life!”

At this, he looked around, paling further when none of his surroundings seemed familiar. “Wait...so this isn’t Dick’s new apartment?”

“No,” she gritted out from between clenched teeth.

“And we didn’t, you know...?”

“No!”

“Oh.” He swallowed roughly, his cheeks pink, before sitting up completely and pulling the pillow into his arms, hugging it awkwardly and looking around. “Okay, I’m beginning to see why you’re pissed.”

“And _now_ he gets it!” Artemis tossed up her hands with the bat still firmly grasped in her right hand. “Now can you _please_ explain to me how you ended up in my _locked_ apartment?”

“Look, beautiful, your guess is as good as mine! I don’t remember anything from last night after the last Fireball shot!” His eyes raked over her, before blushing and staring at her feet. “At least, I hope it was the last shot.”

She rolled her eyes. “It obviously wasn’t!” Realizing he still wasn’t getting violent or trying to tackle her, she finally lowered the baseball bat, tossing it into the armchair beside her. “So even though I feel like I’m doing you a service just by allowing your skull to stay uncracked, I’m not gonna press charges or anything.” He looked up at her gratefully, before resuming his staring. She sighed at his awkward discomfort, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one leg. “Look, I’m obviously not gonna run you out of here with a broom or anything, okay?. My name’s Artemis.”

“Uh, W-Wally,” he stuttered, still blushing. He cleared his throat and shifted a bit on the sofa.

She raised an eyebrow. “I’m serious. You can stop acting like an awkward teenager, I’m not gonna hurt you.”

Wally glared at her, though his lip twitched as if he were suppressing a smile. “Well, I can’t seem to help it, beautiful. It was different when I thought we’d slept together, but the fact that you’re _still_ dressed like that in front of a stranger is a little awkward!” He gestured at her, now completely flushed from his hairline to his shoulders.

Artemis froze, before glancing down to realize that in her state of shock, she had neglected to change out of her usual sleepwear, which, of course, consisted of boy short underwear and a thin, almost sheer, cropped top.

And _only_ that.

It was her turn to blush. “Just a second,” she mumbled in a high-pitched voice that was most certainly _not_ a squeak. Artemis Crock did not squeak.

Wally watched her with wide eyes as she turned on her heel and ran back into her bedroom. She returned in a surprisingly short amount of time, now dressed in jeans and a Stanford sweatshirt. Her face was still tinged with pink as she lowered herself back into the armchair, and she was looking anywhere but the sofa. He sighed.

“I'm sorry.” Artemis turned towards him to find his gaze kinder and gentler than she would have ever expected in the alarmingly short time she’d known him. **“** I didn't mean to perv on you or anything.”

She took a moment to observe him, a bit taken aback that he would even consider apologizing. “You must be the most polite home invader ever. Seriously.”

Wally grinned, and the faint laugh lines around his eyes crinkled. “That’s me, the polite home invader. Bringing courtesy and compliments with every count of breaking and entering.”

Artemis snorted. “I still don't understand how you could be drunk enough to not be aware of completely foreign surroundings.” She moved to curl her legs underneath her, leaning on the arm of the chair to angle herself towards the redhead. “I mean, I've been wasted before, but never _that_ bad.”

He scratched the back of his neck, brow furrowing in contemplation. “Like I said, I'm fuzzy on the details, but I do have an excuse for not recognizing the place. I'm visiting my friend Dick, and while he gave me the address, I've never actually seen his apartment. I go to college in Central City, and it’s my first time out here.”

“Ohhh, everything makes sense now,” she said, propping her head upon her hand.

“Uh, what makes sense?”

She snorted. “Your need to be polite. You're a born and bred midwestern boy. It's glaringly obvious now.”

His lips pursed, but she could tell it was only to keep him from smiling. “Well, that's not stereotyping at all. For all you know I could be from Gotham or Metropolis. A real city slicker.”

She crossed her arms and laughed, leaning back in the chair. “Oh, trust me, I would know. I’m from Gotham.”

His eyes narrowed in disbelief, and his eyebrow quirked up. “Really? You seem way too nice to be a Gothamite. You didn’t even bash my head in, and we all know a true Gotham citizen wouldn’t hesitate to bash in an intruder’s head.”

Artemis shrugged. “I think Stanford has softened me. But don’t let that fool you.” She leaned forward over the arm of the chair, lowering her voice to a whisper. “I could still have you at my mercy if I wanted to.”

Wally’s eyes flashed a dark emerald, and a grin slowly spread across his face. “Oh, I’m sure you could, beautiful.”

The air between them felt dense, almost electric, like the heavy feeling before a thunderstorm. Artemis took a shuddering breath, noticing how Wally’s Adam's apple bobbed and how he shifted closer to her chair. His gaze had yet to shift away from watching her, but his fingers were drumming against his knee as if he was itching to move or reach for something. Maybe someone. As crazy as it was to be attracted to the guy who broke into her apartment, she found herself hoping he would.

They both jumped as a knock at the door rang through the silence. The tension broken, Artemis jumped up and stepped over to the answer. She opened the door and was surprised to see none other than her old classmate Dick Grayson, in a long-sleeved v-neck and dark wash jeans.

“Good morning! Sorry to bother you, but I’m looking for a redheaded pain in my ass? He never showed up last night, and haven’t heard from him today. He might be missing a shirt, and answers to the name of Wal-...wait, Artemis, right?” His blue eyes twinkled with recognition, and his expression changed gleefully from that of a waiter giving the memorized rundown of daily specials.

She blinked. “Um, yeah. Didn’t think you’d recognize me.”

He shrugged and swung a red t-shirt over his shoulder. “I’m pretty good with faces. Listen, I’d love to catch up sometime, but I’m really looking for a friend right now. You haven’t happened to run across a ginger drunk mess today, have you?”

Artemis was about to answer when she felt a warm arm reach around her and open the door wider.

“Dick!” She tipped her head and looked over her shoulder to see a relieved smile on Wally’s face. She tried to focus on that, instead of the fact that he was shirtless and practically had his arm wrapped around her.

“Oh, thank God.” Dick threw his head back and sighed. “What the hell, Wally? I live literally three doors away! Were you that wasted that you couldn’t find me?”

The arm behind Artemis reached up to scratch the back of its owner’s neck, who chuckled sheepishly. “I, uh, may have gotten a little turned around. Oh, sweet, you found my shirt!” Wally stepped forward and ripped the shirt off of Dick’s shoulder.

“Thanks for dealing with this idiot for the night,” Dick said as Wally got stuck with his shirt halfway on. “I definitely owe you one.”

“Um, yeah. It was no problem?” Artemis smiled as Wally righted himself.

“Seriously, thanks for letting me crash, beautiful.” The redhead smiled at her, tossing a mock salute her way.

“There wasn’t much ‘letting’ involved,” she quipped.

“Anyway, we really need to get going, Wallman,” Dick admonished. “We’ve got a brunch date with Zatanna and I _refuse_ to be late because you’d rather be flirting.” Wally blushed as Dick tugged him down the hall by the arm. He turned back, waving at Artemis before getting pulled around the corner.

She stood in the doorway, watching him leave and half-hoping he would come bouncing back around the corner, green eyes shining and a lopsided grin. But it seemed that just as suddenly as he had entered her life, he had left.

Artemis finally turned around, letting the door click shut behind her as she walked back inside. She reached over to straighten the pillows on the sofa that had been displaced by her unexpected visitor before turning on her tv and continuing on to the kitchen. Normally, she’d keep her television off, preferring to eat breakfast in silence before settling in with a fresh pot of tea and a book, but for some reason, it just felt a little too quiet. Too much like something was missing.

She sighed, shook her head, and set her shoulders. That was ridiculous. It was better if she just put the whole thing behind her. It wasn’t like she’d see him again. She grabbed a granola bar out of the pantry before settling in on the sofa to watch whatever odd Saturday morning movie she could find on her local channels. It wasn’t long before she drifted off to sleep, surrounded by the new-to-her-sofa scents of fresh laundry, pine needles, and something she thought might just be pure Wally.

* * *

“Hey, beautiful. Wake up.”

Artemis’ eyes shot open to see unfamiliar green ones staring back. Before she could blink, she had instinctively punched the intruder in the nose, forcing him to fall back onto the floor.

“What the _shit_ , Artemis!”

She blinked rapidly to clear her eyes, quickly registering the fact that Wally was rolling on the floor, blood welling up between the fingers that were clutching his nose. “Wally?!”

The redhead groaned at her feet. “Yes, Wally! Jesus, beautiful, did you have to hit so hard?”

She gawked at him. “Well, I wasn’t exactly expecting anyone.” She pushed up off the sofa, heading for the first aid kit under the sink, when she whirled around to face him. “Wait! How the hell did you get in here? _Again_?!”

He had the decency to look up at her sheepishly. “Well,” he started, his voice muffled by his hands. “I don’t feel like I can be blamed this time, seeing as you left your door unlocked and didn’t answer when I knocked.”

Her brow furrowed, and she decided to forego a rebuttal to retrieve the first aid kit. By the time she got back, he had taken a seat on the sofa and was tipping his head back to keep from dripping onto the floor. Artemis quickly pushed a kitchen towel into Wally’s hands. “Here, don’t do that  you’ll just make yourself sick.”

Wally chuckled darkly. “Don’t worry, I think it’s slowing down already.”

The blonde clicked her tongue. “Still, let me take a look at it.” He hesitated before he pulled the towel away from his face, the sight of which made her wince. “Oh, man. I got you good, didn’t I?”

He tried to smile, but it turned into a pained grimace. “Yeah, but I kind of deserved it after breaking and entering...Twice…”

Artemis snorted but stayed silent as she cleaned up the traces of blood sticking to his upper lip, dabbing around his nose with the towel. She blushed under the weight of his eyes roaming her face. “So… why did you come back?”

Wally’s hands came up and gently pulled her hands down. “I had a little unfinished business, obviously.”

She smirked. “What, like an actual apology for breaking and entering? Twice now?”

“What?” Wally’s eyes went wide. “No, I mean- well, yes I should apologize, but that’s not why I came back. I… just wanted to ask you if I could see you again. Preferably when I’m not hungover and you’re not punching me in the face,” he sighed.

“You can see me again if you can learn to knock.”

“I did knock!”

“I didn’t hear it so it didn’t happen.”

“Oh my god, beautiful, you’re killing me,” Wally groaned, throwing his hands up. “I’m trying to ask you on a date!”

Artemis laughed and reached out to rest her hands on his chest, letting them slide up until her arms reached around his neck. “I know,” she grinned.

 

Wally’s mouth hung open. “You- oh my God, you’re so evil!” he exclaimed as his hands came up to rest on her hips.

 

She raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, you better get used to it. Besides,” she smiled, gazing up at him through her lashes, “you totally love it.”

 

His smile was pure sunshine as he let his forehead rest against hers. “Yeah, I kinda do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Gravity's Union by Coheed and Cambria, which makes absolutely no sense but I love Coheed and the line worked.
> 
> My SO wanted me to call this 'Wally you were sleeping', so I guess this is better than that terrible pun?
> 
> Remember to take a break to stretch, walk around, get some water and roll out those tense shoulders! Self-care is important for everyone!


End file.
